This article is part of our DraftKings MLB series.
We've made it to getaway day, so as has been the case, we lose out on several night games. It's also a pretty straightforward night at pitcher, where there are a few elite options and not much else. That will create pressure to find value hitters to fill out lineups.
Pitchers
Freddy Peralta ($8,900) had a shaky start to the season, walking six across his first seven innings of work. In two starts since, he's handed out only two free passes across 11 frames. He'll take the mound against Cincinnati, which remains a team to target until further notice.
Lucas Giolito ($9,500) has also been effective to begin the campaign, and he side-stepped two home runs in his last outing to still post a respectable 16.7 DK points. The Cubs are at least a mediocre offense (if not better) so between price and matchup, I'll lean on Peralta for cash games.
Garrett Whitlock ($7,800) will be a pivotal player on the slate. His skills have been spectacular across six appearances this season, as he's maintained a 0.54 ERA and 0.78 WHIP with a 20:4 K:BB across 16.2 innings. However, he hasn't thrown more than four innings in any outing and will also face an Angels' offense that has been potent early on. His price has also jumped from $6,200 to $7,800, which is likely enough for me to shy away.
No one in the player pool stands out as a punt or extreme value. Dylan Bundy ($8,300) is a step down from the aces and has had good results. He'll also face off against Baltimore -- insert revenge narrative, if you're into that kind of thing -- which is another offense to target similar to Cincinnati.
Top Hitters
There's not really a bad night to roster Aaron Judge ($5,900), but he is in a particularly nice spot Tuesday. Yusei Kikuchi has served up at least one home run in each of his starts and has allowed 1.6 HR/9 combined between the last two seasons.
Jose Abreu ($4,200) hasn't gotten off to a powerful start to the season – he has only two home runs and three doubles in 21 games – but I like his opportunity Wednesday. Kyle Hendricks has pitched well at times, but he's also surrendered six earned runs in two different starts already so the blowup potential is present.
Byron Buxton ($5,300) is a relative bargain among the top hitters in the player pool, and his dip in price from $6,100 to his current point is reason enough to consider him. He and the Twins take on Kyle Bradish, who is a well-regarded prospect in the Baltimore system. However, that doesn't necessarily mean Bradish will immediately be ready for the show as he is making just his second career start in the majors.
Value Hitters
Gavin Sheets ($3,500) has manned the fifth spot in the White Sox order against right-handed pitchers. He hasn't very well at all, but the aforementioned Hendricks struggled significantly against left-handed hitters last season. He's also been susceptible to blowups as mentioned above, and Sheets' lineup position would put him in a prime position to capitalize on a big offensive performance from the team.
DraftKings rightfully bumped the price of Cesar Hernandez up from Tuesday's slate, but I'm still value hunting at Coors Field. Maikel Franco ($3,000) and Garrett Hampson ($2,200) – who is likely to enter the lineup with a lefty on the mound – both are very cheap options with some nice upside.
Trey Mancini ($2,700) has had notable results for all the wrong reasons early this season, as he has only a .609 OPS. However, he's making strong contact (88th percentile xSLG and xwOBA), so I'll continue to roster him as long as he stays this cheap.
Stacks to Consider
Colorado Rockies vs. Patrick Corbin: Connor Joe ($5,700), Charlie Blackmon ($4,500), Randal Grichuk ($5,100), C.J. Cron ($5,600)
The Rockies' stack flopped Tuesday night, but this one feels like a gimme. Corbin has pitched well in the majority of his starts, but he's also imploded by allowing six and seven earned runs in two different appearances. If there's a place for things to go wrong for pitchers it's at Coors Field. Keep an eye on the Colorado lineup, as facing off against a lefty could shake things up. Joe Iglesias ($4,300) has hit second at times versus southpaws, and he'd come as a relative bargain and likely be ignored due to his lack of offensive ability.
Milwaukee Brewers vs. Vladimir Gutierrez: Kolten Wong ($4,100), Willy Adames ($4,600), Christian Yelich ($4,200), Andrew McCutchen ($3,800)
This is a nice stack to target for a number of reasons. First is price, as utilizing the Brewers would allow one (maybe both) of Giolito and Peralta into lineups. Second, they've hit well at home all season (4.55 runs per game) and they've also been hot of late (6.67 runs per game in their last three matchups. Finally, Vladimir Gutierrez has 15 walks as opposed to 11 strikeouts early on in the campaign, so any homers the Brewers hit are more likely to come with runners on base.
New York Yankees vs. Yusei Kikuchi: D.J. LeMahieu ($4,600), Aaron Judge ($5,900), Aaron Hicks ($3,600), Giancarlo Stanton ($4,600)
Speaking of hot teams, the Yankees have won 11 straight games. They'll have a good chance to extend that winning streak with a strong offensive performance against Yusei Kikuchi, who owns a 13:13 K:BB early this season and has allowed nine earned runs across 14.2 innings. Hicks has hit leadoff in each of the last two games, which would make him a great value option to anchor this stack.
